Sarasota officer seen punching suspect is fired

Published: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 12:57 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 12:57 p.m.

SARASOTA - The police chief has fired the nine-year veteran officer who was caught on video repeatedly punching a man in the head at a club downtown in August.

The department ended its internal affairs investigation Wednesday morning into Officer Scott Patrick and found he violated five department policies, including prohibitions against using excessive force and offensive language.

“We have standards at the Sarasota Police Department, we have general orders that control our behavior,” Capt. Paul Sutton said. “When an officer doesn’t meet up to the standards we expect, then there will be disciplinary action.”

There is also an ongoing criminal investigation into Patrick’s actions and he may face a misdemeanor battery charge, which could mean up to a year of jail time, Assistant State Attorney Spencer Rasnake said.

Attorney Tom Shults, who is representing the police department, announced that the investigation was over at a court hearing Wednesday morning, where local attorney Andrea Mogensen was asking a judge to release a second surveillance video from the incident at the club on Aug. 4. The second video shows a different angle of Patrick hitting 29-year-old Jason Dragash.

Lt. Jason Reed watched one of the surveillance videos from the club shortly after the incident and reported Patrick’s actions to Internal Affairs.

Interviews from the internal investigation, released along with the videos on Wednesday, show the episode began after two sisters told Patrick that Dragash was harassing them that night.

Dragash was intoxicated and disrespectful when Patrick went to talk to him outside the club, witnesses said. Patrick led Dragash back into the club to wait for a ride. From outside the bar, Patrick said he could hear Dragash swearing at police, so he went back inside.

Anthony Misiti, a manager at Ivory Lounge, told investigators he was standing nearby and heard Patrick swear at Dragash, warning him to shut up and saying he was about to be arrested. Dragash and Patrick stared each other down, Misiti said.

The video shows a bar employee touched Dragash’s shoulder and the struggle started as Dragash started to sit down on a bench. Then five officers rushed in, pushing him to the ground. It is unclear what provoked the response.

As the group of officers held Dragash down, Patrick punched him five or six times then held his neck.

“I should have (expletive) killed you,” Patrick told Dragash after hitting him, according to several people at the scene.

Investigators reviewed the other officers’ actions but only sustained allegations against Patrick, Sutton said.

Patrick told internal investigators that he was afraid Dragash would grab a broken bottle lying nearby.

Other officers said Dragash’s body tensed when they were holding him down, but they were not sure whether he was trying to resist arrest. Dragash said he never reached for a bottle or tried to pull his arms away, though he added he could not remember much because he was drunk.

Dragash was charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest. Both charges have since been dropped.

In his mug shot, the right side of Dragash’s face is filled with cuts and bruises and his eye is swollen shut.

Bar employees were shocked by Patrick’s reaction.

“It just looked like it was something personal,” Misiti told investigators. “Like he just kind of snapped.”

Mogensen convinced Circuit Judge Lee Haworth to force the police to release the first surveillance video in September, arguing it was public record because police had already shown it to Dragash’s attorney.

At the time, police did not tell the judge or the city attorney about a second video of the incident.

Later, City Attorney Bob Fournier said the police did not release the second video because it was evidence in the internal affairs investigation. Mogensen asked the judge to hold the city in contempt for not turning over the other recording sooner. The end of the internal affairs investigation rendered that issue moot.

The approximately one-thousand-page internal investigation and decision to refer the case to the state attorney’s office for a criminal investigation show the department took it seriously, Sutton said.

The Patrick case comes a little over a month after Officer Christopher Childers got his job back at th department. He was fired three years ago for kicking a drunk man who was handcuffed and had fallen to the ground. Childers’ firing was overturned by the city’s Civil Service Board.

<p><em>SARASOTA</em> - The police chief has fired the nine-year veteran officer who was caught on video repeatedly punching a man in the head at a club downtown in August.</p><p>The department ended its internal affairs investigation Wednesday morning into Officer Scott Patrick and found he violated five department policies, including prohibitions against using excessive force and offensive language.</p><p>“We have standards at the Sarasota Police Department, we have general orders that control our behavior,” Capt. Paul Sutton said. “When an officer doesn't meet up to the standards we expect, then there will be disciplinary action.”</p><p>There is also an ongoing criminal investigation into Patrick's actions and he may face a misdemeanor battery charge, which could mean up to a year of jail time, Assistant State Attorney Spencer Rasnake said. </p><p>Attorney Tom Shults, who is representing the police department, announced that the investigation was over at a court hearing Wednesday morning, where local attorney Andrea Mogensen was asking a judge to release a second surveillance video from the incident at the club on Aug. 4. The second video shows a different angle of Patrick hitting 29-year-old Jason Dragash.</p><p>Lt. Jason Reed watched one of the surveillance videos from the club shortly after the incident and reported Patrick's actions to Internal Affairs.</p><p>Interviews from the internal investigation, released along with the videos on Wednesday, show the episode began after two sisters told Patrick that Dragash was harassing them that night. </p><p>Dragash was intoxicated and disrespectful when Patrick went to talk to him outside the club, witnesses said. Patrick led Dragash back into the club to wait for a ride. From outside the bar, Patrick said he could hear Dragash swearing at police, so he went back inside. </p><p>Anthony Misiti, a manager at Ivory Lounge, told investigators he was standing nearby and heard Patrick swear at Dragash, warning him to shut up and saying he was about to be arrested. Dragash and Patrick stared each other down, Misiti said. </p><p>The video shows a bar employee touched Dragash's shoulder and the struggle started as Dragash started to sit down on a bench. Then five officers rushed in, pushing him to the ground. It is unclear what provoked the response.</p><p>As the group of officers held Dragash down, Patrick punched him five or six times then held his neck. </p><p>“I should have (expletive) killed you,” Patrick told Dragash after hitting him, according to several people at the scene.</p><p>Investigators reviewed the other officers' actions but only sustained allegations against Patrick, Sutton said. </p><p>Patrick told internal investigators that he was afraid Dragash would grab a broken bottle lying nearby.</p><p>Other officers said Dragash's body tensed when they were holding him down, but they were not sure whether he was trying to resist arrest. Dragash said he never reached for a bottle or tried to pull his arms away, though he added he could not remember much because he was drunk.</p><p>Dragash was charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest. Both charges have since been dropped.</p><p>In his mug shot, the right side of Dragash's face is filled with cuts and bruises and his eye is swollen shut. </p><p>Bar employees were shocked by Patrick's reaction.</p><p>“It just looked like it was something personal,” Misiti told investigators. “Like he just kind of snapped.”</p><p>Mogensen convinced Circuit Judge Lee Haworth to force the police to release the first surveillance video in September, arguing it was public record because police had already shown it to Dragash's attorney.</p><p>At the time, police did not tell the judge or the city attorney about a second video of the incident. </p><p>Later, City Attorney Bob Fournier said the police did not release the second video because it was evidence in the internal affairs investigation. Mogensen asked the judge to hold the city in contempt for not turning over the other recording sooner. The end of the internal affairs investigation rendered that issue moot.</p><p>The approximately one-thousand-page internal investigation and decision to refer the case to the state attorney's office for a criminal investigation show the department took it seriously, Sutton said. </p><p>The Patrick case comes a little over a month after Officer Christopher Childers got his job back at th department. He was fired three years ago for kicking a drunk man who was handcuffed and had fallen to the ground. Childers' firing was overturned by the city's Civil Service Board.</p><p>Patrick can also appeal his firing to the board.</p>